Instructors’ Beliefs on Critical Thinking and Their Classroom Practices: A Case Study

Abstract

The ability to think critically is an essential life skill which needs to be developed in order to compete in a global environment. Current literature reveals that explicit critical instruction, and practice of critical thinking (CT) strategies helps to improve learner’s performances. Hence, it is vital for instructors to have strong beliefs in critical thinking as it influences their classroom practice. The present study seeks to fill the gap between instructors’ beliefs as well as practices which serves to be important in improving the educational process. The aim of this study is to investigate how instructors perceived CT as well as their classroom instruction in teaching the skills among tertiary level learners. Further, it also investigates whether the constructs (beliefs and practices) of the instructors matched with one another. The participants of this study involved instructors from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) located in Seri Iskandar Perak. Data were collected using exploratory qualitative approach and the findings were presented in a qualitative descriptive approach through interviews as well as observations.